Sacked nine times Friday, Rutgers' QB Chas Dodd tries to hold up

Andrew Mills/THE STAR-LEDGER Chas Dodd was sacked nine times on Friday, contributing to a nation-worst 55 total on the season.

It’s hard to tell anymore whether true freshman quarterback Chas Dodd will be better or worse off for the experience he’s getting this season.

Dodd continued to take all of the snaps, relegating former starter Tom Savage to a sideline spectator for the third time in four games, but he also took another beating.

Officially, Dodd was sacked nine times by Louisville yesterday.

That’s 39 this season (of the nation-leading 55 the Knights have allowed). He was also under duress and pressured on many of his other 32 pass attempts.

“He’s a real competitor,” center Howard Barbieri said. “I give him a lot of credit. He was hit a lot (yesterday) and he has been hit a lot this season and he keeps getting up.”

Dodd said he is holding up physically — “just soreness and bruises here and there,” he said — and that the sacks have not left him mentally scarred. At least not yet.

“You can’t let it be like that,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to go out there and make plays and trust in your line and believe that big plays are going to happen.”

Meanwhile, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said he didn’t see an opening to get Savage in again, even though Dodd finished just 14-of-32 for 177 yards with two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and no TD passes.

Analyzing yet another Rutgers loss After a Rutgers loss in which they let up 40 points and over 400 yards, are there any positives to take away from this game - or this season? Star-Ledger reporters Tom Luicci and Dave Hutchinson debate who is to blame in Saturday's dismantling. (Video by Michael Monday/The Star-Ledger)

“I don’t think to put him (in) late in the game (would have been beneficial),” Schiano said. “We’re trying to get better. I thought Chas, although his numbers weren’t great in the first half, I thought he was right on doing what he was supposed to do.

• The announced crowd of 37,422 — that’s tickets sold — completed a full season of no home sellouts for Rutgers. There were just two last season.

• True freshman Jordan Thomas became the Knights’ fourth back to top 100 rushing yards this season, going for 120 and a touchdown on 16 carries. Mohamed Sanu (Tulane), Joe Martinek (Norfolk State) and Jeremy Deering (Syracuse) have had the other 100-yard rushing games. Thomas is now the Knights’ leading rusher with 354 yards.

• Schiano has coached 121 games at Rutgers, third-most all-time behind John Bateman (124) and Frank Burns (122). Schiano has the most losses in school history (62) and holds the Big East record for conference losses (44).